Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz are a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are a part of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The franchise began in 1974 as the New Orleans Jazz in New Orleans, Louisiana; the team moved to Utah in 1979. The Jazz were one of the most successful teams in the league in their early years. Although they took 10 years before they made a playoff appearance (in 1984), they would not miss the playoffs again until 2004. During the late 1980s, John Stockton and Karl Malone arose as the franchise players for the team, and formed one of the most famed point guard–power forward duos in NBA history. Led by coach Jerry Sloan, who took over for Frank Layden in 1988, they became one of the powerhouse teams of the 1990s, culminating in two NBA Finals appearances in 1997 and 1998, where they lost both times to the Chicago Bulls, led by Michael Jordan. Both Stockton and Malone moved on in 2003. After missing the playoffs for three consecutive seasons the Jazz returned to prominence under the on-court leadership of point guard Deron Williams. However, partway through the 2010–11 season, the Jazz began a restructuring after the retirement of Jerry Sloan and trade of Deron Williams. The team has made the playoffs since then, under coach Tyrone Corbin. The Jazz are the only team in the Big 4 sports leagues located in the state of Utah; however, Utah is home to Real Salt Lake, a professional soccer team in Major League Soccer 2010–present: The Paul Millsap era The 2010–11 season began on a positive note, as the team went undefeated (8–0) in the preseason, and in mid-January, they were 27–13 and seemed well on their way to another winning season, had that pace continued. However, over the next 14 games, Utah went 4–10. On February 10, 2011, with the team record at 31–23 after a loss to the Chicago Bulls, head coach Jerry Sloan resigned, along with assistant Phil Johnson. Another of Sloan's assistants, Tyrone Corbin, was named the new head coach, while Scott Layden, the other assistant, remained as well. A week later, the Jazz hired former Jazz player Jeff Hornacek as an assistant coach. On February 23, 2011, the Jazz traded star player Deron Williams to the New Jersey Nets for two 1st round draft picks (New Jersey's 2011 and Golden State's conditional 2012) and players, Derrick Favors and Devin Harris. It was rumored that Williams got into a shouting match with head coach Sloan during a game against the Chicago Bulls, which preceded Sloan's resignation and eventually, the Jazz's decision to trade Williams. While Williams was under contract through 2011–12 with a player option worth $17.7 million for 2012–13, Jazz chief executive officer Greg Miller did not believe they would be able to re-sign him. "And while I never saw any indication that he wouldn’t re-sign with us, I never saw any indication he would,” said Miller.3637 The remainder of the season saw the Jazz continue to struggle, finishing with a 39–43 record, 11th in the Western Conference, therefore missing the playoffs for the first time since 2006. During the 2011 draft, the Jazz had two lottery picks (one acquired in the trade that sent Williams to the New Jersey Nets), and used them on Enes Kanter and Alec Burks. Following the end of the 2011 NBA lockout that saw the 2011–12 season shortened to 66 games, the Jazz bid farewell to their two longest-tenured players – Mehmet Okur was traded to the Nets for a future 2nd-round pick, and Andrei Kirilenko, who played in his native Russia during the lockout and whose contract had expired after the 2011 season, decided to stay in Russia for the remainder of the 2011–12 season. They also acquired free agent veterans Josh Howard and Jamaal Tinsley. During the 2012 offseason the Jazz to traded Devin Harris to the Hawks for Marvin Williams. 38 In the 2012 draft the Jazz selected Kevin Murphy. The Utah Jazz signed Mo Williams and Randy Foye both former Clippers.They re-signed Jeremy Evans and Jamaal Tinsley during the off-season. Long time Jazz player, C.J. Miles, decided to sign with Cleveland. Andrei Kirilenko did not re-sign with the Jazz in the offseason. The Jazz also named Dennis Lindsey as GM and Kevin O'Connor as Vice President of Basketball Operations. Derrick Favors says he is very happy with the moves this off-season and says to expect a huge difference this season. Utah Jazz Roster Category:Western Conference